The CLASSICAL TEXTS AND AUTHENTIC PRACTICES OF EASTERN SPIRITUALITY curriculum offers a progressively unfolding, comprehensive course of study in the wisdom and practical application of Eastern spirituality as it pertains to modern life. 

The curriculum as a whole is comprised of twelve courses to be taught over two years. When taken together, these stand-alone courses constitute an extensive course of study in the classical scriptures and principal practices of Eastern spirituality. 

Based on Lama Marut’s original translations and relevant, applicable interpretations of the Sanskrit classics of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Yogic traditions, each course consists of six weekly two-hour interactive online classes, including lecture, discussion, and guided meditation portions. 

These courses cover a wide range of teachings and practices from an inclusive, comparative, and non-sectarian point of view. They are designed to provide an in-depth, systematic, and coherent foundation and overall framework for any serious spiritual practitioner.

Module 6

This course will highlight the ways we repeatedly re-create the causes of our own suffering and how we can break out of this “wheel” and attain total freedom.

Sundays, 8 November - 20 December 2020

6:30pm CT (4:30 pm PT/5:30 pm MT/7:30 pm ET)

2-hours

No meeting on 29 November (Thanksgiving)

Among the most profound and useful teachings of Buddhism is the so-called “Twelve Links of Dependent Arising,” an analysis of the circular nature of the actions that keep us perpetually suffering. We will explore this topic through a verse by verse examination of the relevant chapter from the great Indian philosopher Nagarjuna’s master text. It will highlight the ways we repeatedly re-create the causes of our own suffering and how we can break out of this “wheel” and attain total freedom.

Topics include: “identifying with the Causes of Suffering,” “The Nature of Interdependence,” “How Craving and Grasping Arise,” and “Breaking the Chain.”

Benefits of the Course:

• Discover how “dependent arising” works in our own lives to keep us suffering
• Learn about how the causal process of rebirth works (over lifetimes, but also moment by moment)
• Gain a deep understanding of what is meant by “interdependence” and how to live a more connected life
• Identify the “weak links” in the “chain” and how to break them
• Analyze the five principal “mental afflictions” and acquire practical strategies for combatting them

Based on Chapter 26 of Nagarjuna’s Root Verses on the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamaka Karika) and Lama Marut’s original verse-by-verse written commentary, with an addendum from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra on the five principal mental afflictions.